Beware - Rattlesnakes Are Out Early

This winter has been unseasonably warm not just for us humans, but also rattlesnakes.

On average, one to two people in Texas die each year from venomous snake bites according to Texas Health and Human Services. But that’s with a typical winter.

This year, it’s been unseasonably warm causing those snakes to get out and enjoy the sun a bit earlier.

“We’ve been as high here as 98-degrees in the county in the past couple of weeks and we’ve had lots of 80-degree days and that is kind of ideal temperature for snakes to start moving out of their dens,” said Texas A&M Agrilife’s Donley County extension agent Leonard Haynes.

“It has been warmer and we’ve killed more rattlesnakes this winter than I’ve ever seen,” said ranch hand Johnny Hill.

Hill said he and his boss have killed more than a dozen rattlesnakes just over the past several months.